Because I Love You
by Viole Jyu Grace
Summary: After the Battle of Vale, Yang has fallen into depression. Loneliness has swallowed her up, and she is all alone. And the person there to comfort her is...Jaune Arc? One-Shot, celebration for Volume 4 of RWBY being announced


**Summary: After the Battle of Vale, Yang has fallen into depression. Loneliness has swallowed her up, and she is all alone. And the person there to comfort her is...Jaune Arc? One-Shot, celebration for Volume 4 of RWBY being announced**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY**

* * *

Yang sat in her room, alone, and staring out the window. Her lilac eyes were filled with nothing but sadness, anger, and hate. All she could think about was how Blake had run away, how she'd just abandoned not just _her_ , but everyone. Sun, Nora, and her entire damn team! Yang had lost her arm trying to help her, and she'd just abandoned them, going to god knows where!

She was cut out of her thoughts when she heard the door open. She looked, expecting to see her father, but her eyes widened slightly at who it was. "...Jaune?"

"Hey Yang..." Jaune Arc said softly in a small voice. "I haven't seen you since your arm...ya know..."

She stared at him like he was stupid. Had he _really_ just said that? Part of her wanted to punch him, but the other part just decided to let it slide. Jaune wasn't exactly bright. "Yeah...it's tough, only having one arm..."

He nods, "Ruby said you were upset, so I thought I would drop by for a visit, ya know...try and help cheer you up a little."

That was sweet of him, but Yang doubted he could help. "Well you can try, no offence, but I doubt you'll do too well..."

Jaune just sighed, like he'd expected it. "Well can I get you anything? Food, or something?"

"Food or something?" She furrowed a brow at him. "What are you even _doing_ around this way?"

"I was visiting..." Jaune looked down. "I was visiting... _her_ grave, and decided to stop by..."

Immediately, Yang's hostilities were silenced, and guilt settled in her stomach. Of course Jaune had gone to visit _her_ grave...Jaune hadn't exactly kept quiet about what Pyrrha had done before she'd met her end...she looked away. "...Sorry..."

"No, it's okay, I just..." he looked down. "I wish I'd learned how she felt sooner...I was so blind..."

"Well things happen," Yang said, finding it a little strange that Jaune had stopped by to cheer her up, but now the roles had been reversed. "Can't change it now..." that came out bitterly, and Yang damn well knew it. "You just...gotta keep moving forward."

Jaune looked her dead in the eye. "You and the rest all knew about Pyrrha's feelings for me, didn't you...?" Yang stayed quiet, and Jaune pressed on, "How long did you and the rest know?"

"Well..." she looked away from him. "It was kinda clear... Not to make you feel bad... But y'know.. Love is blind they say."

"No," he shook his head, "love isn't blind. I was. Thinking back on it...it was so clear that I want someone to hit me over the head. I was blinded by Weiss like an idiot when she clearly had no interest in me."

"Don't worry too much about it," she told him. "Dwelling on it's not gonna help you." She faced to the side, a little puff of air in her cheek. "You gotta move on." As she spoke, Yang considered her own words. Dwelling on Blake's abandonment wasn't going to help her in the long term. She had to move on, and keep moving forward, without Blake.

Jaune sighed and sat on a chair beside her bed before leaning back. "It isn't so easy. When Pyrrha kissed me everything...clicked, ya know? And now she's gone I feel like..." He frowned, trying to find words. "It's like there was a mirror between us, and we reflected each other. And now it feels like that mirror has been shattered, and the pieces have been scattered. Does that make sense?"

"..." Yang stayed quiet at that. It wasn't that she didn't understand...rather it was that she was able to relate to him. She looked up, sort of mustering up the reminiscent fading characteristics of a smile. "I guess...that makes sense."

Jaune nodded slowly before chuckling a little. "You know, I won't lie, at first when i was complimenting Weiss it was to annoy her for calling me scraggly. I actually liked you at first, but I realised you were way out of my league..."

Yang was slightly flattered at that, but she didn't show it. "Well..." She leaned her head on her lightly coiled fist. "Maybe you shouldn't think about that.. Let your heart heal, y'know?"

"M-maybe your right..." he took a breath. "I think I need a break from trying to be a Huntsman...I guess I should start trying to find a job...I can't exactly go back home..."

"You're taking the out?" She narrowed her eyes, seemingly enraged a little. "You're quitting..!?"

Jaune glared at Yang angrily, which surprised her a little. For as long as she'd known Jaune, she'd never actually seen him _angry_. It was...strange. "NEVER say I'm quitting!" He snapped at her, "I owe it not only to myself, not only to Pyrrha, but to every single person who died on that day that I shouldn't quit! I said I'm taking a break so try and fix myself. The state I'm in right now, I'd be a liability, meaning more people could die because of me."

"You're a leader!" Yang countered, focusing her glare on him. "You don't have TIME to be taking a breather!" It was at that point, Yang felt a certain inner fire that had fizzled out reignite. Her hand naturally latched out around his collar, hiking him up with said hand. "You have people waiting for you to GUIDE Them. What the HELL do you think you're doing?!"

"AND GUIDE THEM TO THEIR DEATHS?!" He yelled angrily at her. "THE WAY I AM RIGHT NOW, MORE PEOPLE WOULD DIE BECAUSE OF ME!" Jaune grabbed Yang's collar, not willing to back down anymore. "MAYBE I DO HAVE PEOPLE WAITING FOR ME TO GUIDE THEM! MAYBE I DON'T HAVE TIME TO BE TAKING A BREATHER! BUT IT ISN'T LIKE I GOT INTO BEACON LEGALLY!" His eyes suddenly widened and he immediately clamped a hand over his mouth.

Yang ignored those words, her eyes twining red. She'd had enough with the idea of teammates abandoning others. She was still very sore and bitter about Blake's disappearance. Everything could have gone so much better if she hadn't decided to leave them. THAT was her issue. She let go of Jaune, shoving him down with her hand against the center of his chest. "If you wanted to get in SO bad as to cheat. Then OWN Up to it! GOD! You sound so..." She gripped her retracted hand into a tight fist, eyes fully red now. As she glared punched the wall, the spark lit up, her hair growing an inferno blaze. " _ **SO DAMN SPOILED AND SELFISH!**_ "

His eyes widened at those words, and he looked at her, appearing to be having flashbacks, before his eyes narrow at her. "YOU WANT ME TO BE A LEADER?! FINE THEN! I'LL BE A LEADER SO DAMN GOOD THAT WHEN PEOPLE HEAR THE NAME JAUNE ARC THEY FEEL NOTHING BUT RESPECT FOR THE NAME!"

"FINE!" She moved back away from him, slowly unclenching her fist as her semblance began to fade from visibility. "That's.. What you're SUPPOSED to do."

Jaune slowly stood up. "...Thanks for setting me straight Yang..."

Yang couldn't help it. She felt the smallest twinge of a smile starting to form on her face. "...No problem..."

He scratched the back of his head before he stretched a little bit. "I should head out now. I'll be back to visit again next month."

"Yeah..." she leaned back, kicking her feet a little bit. "Have fun out there..." she felt some regret slipping into her voice, her next words quieter. "One of us can..."

Jaune looked at her before putting his hand on her shoulder. "Hey," he said to her, "if I'm not allowed to give up, you aren't allowed to either. So what if you have just one arm? Prosthetic arms can be made, and even without one you'll find a way to survive and fight." He offered her a small smile.

"Yeah...I'll start working on it," She returned the smile, eyes being closed as she conveyed it with a forced, wide smile." I'm gonna have to whip myself back into a shape...a month of drawn out, one arm training."

"If anyone can survive it and come out stronger, it's you Yang." Jaune noticed the fake smile. How could he not? He'd used them enough in his life. But out of respect for Yang, he said nothing about it.

"Yeah...thanks for that." She tapped his forehead a little. "Now you'd better be going, don't cha think?"

He nodded at her. "Yeah, I guess so..." He headed to the door before he gathered his courage and looked back. "You'll see, I'll become so great...that when I ask you out on a date your answer will be yes." He then quickly left the room before she could give a response.

She had lifted her hand, finger raised to respond, but whence he left so suddenly, she didn't have a chance. She lowered her hand, and was left sitting with silence. She blinked a few times, hand in her lap and feet kicking casually, being they were elevated from the ground. Unbidden, a small, true smile came to her lips. "Good luck Jaune...better hurry, I won't wait forever..."

Jaune walked outside the house, walking away before he stopped and sent a look in the direction of Pyrrha's grave. He shook his head and began to walk down the path.

Yang, on the other hand, climbed out of bed and walked downstairs, a fire of determination in her eyes. She headed to the training room and walked over to the punching back. She clenched her single hand into a fist. She had training to catch up on.

* * *

Soon enough, a month had passed. Jaune had kept good on his promise, and trained more intensely than anyone could ever believe. No matter how many times he got knocked down, he stood back up again, waiting for more punishment. Keeping good on his promise, he visited Pyrrha's grave. He stared at it for a long time, wiping the dust off the grave and placing roses down by it, before he then turned and walked towards Yang's home.

Yang, by this point, had settled adequately back into her home in Patch. She was back into her clothing, able to put it on without the assistance of anyone anymore. If so, very mild assistance. At this point, however, rather than looking like the bad ass huntress she had trained to be...she looked a little like a woman suited to keeping a home. She was making dinner for her father, who was out and about, not expecting a visit, having honestly forgotten Jaune's promise to visit her.

Jaune stood at the front door nervously, before gathering his courage and knocking on the door. He was still dressed the same as he usually was, but now after a month of training he had some decent muscle under his clothes. He was feeling quite nervous about doing this, since last time he boldly declared he would ask her out on a date and he'd be so great that she would say yes. He didn't feel like he was at that point yet, but he promised Yang he would stop by and see her, and an Arc never broke a promise.

"Huh?" Yang lifted her head, reaching back and turning the stove burner down a bit. She was navigating around the table and such, to the front door. She cracked the door, a lavender eye peering through again, then fully opened it up. She was wearing a yellow apron over a pair of casual pale blue pants- which were rolled up at the ends- and a golden shirt. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Upon seeing who was there, the blonde girl slowly opened the door a bit wider, tipping her head. "Jaune!" She seemed a lot more cheerful than the last time, having the ability to muster up a close-eyed smile that wasn't as forced or false. "Hey! How's it been... _Yangin'_?"

Any nervousness Jaune felt drained away at that moment as he did what nobody did: he actually chuckled at Yang's pun. "It's been good. I'm glad to see you are up and moving now. And you got prettier too. So, you mind if I come in? I mean, as long as I'm not intruding or anything."

Yang blinked a little in surprise at how forward Jaune was being, but she didn't let it throw her off. "Oh Thanks! And uh.. Yeah!" She stepped back to allow him inside, maintaining a grin. "We always have room around here for people that understand quality comedy."

Jaune gave a light chuckle at that and walked in. "Thanks," he said as he glanced around the room. "I never really got a good look last time I was here, but this is a really nice house. Is it cool if I take off my armour and jacket? The Dust Plane I took here had no air conditioning."

"Thanks. It's a tough job to keep it'know. But I manage," She moved back over to the stove to start fixing things up over there, then turned her head and gave a casual smile. "Go ahead. Y'better not get the place smelling all sweaty though."

He snorted lightly, "Don't worry, I won't," he undid his armour and gently set it on a chair, before he pulled off his hoodie, revealing that he was wearing a black vest underneath it, and also revealing his now decently muscled arms and torso. "Oh man that feels good..."

She turned around, and began to relax. Her dad was usually out, so she didn't get much company. She tipped her head, shamelessly looking over him, then pursed her lips to let out an admiring whistle. " _Damn_ , Jaune! You've really toned up! What have you been DOING lately?"

Jaune looked at her in surprise before blushing. "W-well, after my last visit I started training really hard. As in, Glynda the slave driver would be proud. I mean...I realised I needed to stop treating being a Huntsman like it was just a game. So I've been tearing my body apart training. I actually broke my arm and kept training despite it."

She looked up, looking to him almost as though staring in a sense of admiration. One could probably even see the glimmer of light that sparked up in her lavender eyes. She...had really helped to make that difference. That made her happy. "That's... amazing," Her faint smile hooked up into a large grin. "You've got the good 'old Yang Fire in you! Good on ya!"

He smiled at her. "I can't thank you enough for that. You really have a Will of Fire, I appreciate you helping me out."

"I should be thanking YOU Jaune," she told him. "Our talk made me think...and I realised there was no use in dwelling on the past. I could only push forward, and hope for the future. I just returned the help you unknowingly gave me."

Jaune stared at her. "I see...then your welcome."

She whiskered away to her food pot. "So mister 'natural blonde', what are you gonna do now?"

"Well I came to visit you," he said to her. "Once I get back to Atlas, I'm gonna be heading to a Weapon shop to start making my new Weapon, and then it's back to training and missions, and then I'll stop by again next month."

"It's a monthly thing now?" She tipped her head to glance over to him, taking the food off of the burner now and setting it off to the side. With it not cooking, she was able to make her way over to him, pulling out a chair to sit down. She felt touched that Jaune would take the time to visit her, though she pushed those feelings down. She felt like it would be betraying Pyrrha's memory to try and date Jaune...that and she was fairly sure that Ruby had a crush on him.

He nodded at her. "Well...yeah. You're my friend, so it's natural to want to check on you every once in awhile. Is uh...that an issue?"

"Nah! If it were a couple of months ago, it would have been," She grinned, waving him off. "But I'm fine with your company. It's good to see someone around besides dad."

He gave her a smile. "I'm glad to hear. So, do you need any help with anything, like cleaning? Growing up with seven sisters and being the youngest means you often have to clean up after them, so I'm a pretty good cleaner. By the way, got any embarrassing stories about Ruby I can tease her with?"

Yang just grinned. Oh she had SO much to talk to Jaune about! "Well there was this one time when Ruby decided she wanted to be a boy..."

* * *

Months flew by, and Jaune visited Yang each and every month without fail. Yang didn't complain once. Jaune's company was nice. And the more time she spent with Jaune, the more she found herself missing his company every time he was away. Yang grew stronger, and Jaune came over stronger too. Yang idly wondered if Jaune would ask her out yet, but Jaune always mentioned he didn't think he was at that point.

As Jaune continued to frequently visit, Yang felt something stir in her chest. At first she brushed it off, but soon she began to feel it stir every time he smiled, or each time he laughed, or said something that made her happy. She hadn't a clue what this strange feeling was, but it scared her to no end. It made her feel strange...

One month, Jaune failed to visit, and Yang immediately grew worried. It had been over a year since Jaune began visiting her, and he'd never failed to visit, but now...he had missed a visit. Had he forgotten about her? Had he decided he didn't want to visit anymore? Or worse...was he dead?

Yang didn't know, and she was afraid of finding out, as she panicked over the questions for a whole month. Yang didn't know why, but the thought of any question she asked herself being true made her absolutely terrified. She didn't want _Jaune_ to forget her. She didn't want him to not visit her anymore. She...she didn't want him to be dead.

She was stressed. It was clear to anybody who saw her. Her father never knew why. He asked Yang why she was so stressed, but she refused to answer, insisting that she was just fine, and nothing was wrong, but Taiyang knew better. He didn't push her however, he knew that Yang would tell him when she was ready.

Yang was cooking dinner in the kitchen, her face blank as she cooked. Her father was out, so she was all alone in the house again. She didn't like being alone. It's why she liked Beacon, because she bunked with her team. She didn't have to be alone. She didn't have to be-

Her thoughts were cut off as the doorbell rung. She sighed. It was probably her father, coming home and having forgotten his keys again. She moved the pot off of the stove, before she walked to the door and opened it. "Hey da-" she stopped as she looked at the person standing on the other side of the door.

He was certainly blonde, and his eyes were blue, but that was where the similarities ended. He wore a black hoodie with white armour, blue jeans, and had a familiar sword on his waist. He was giving her a small smile that made her heart flutter in joy. "Hey Yang..." Jaune Arc said softly.

Yang looked at him in shock. "J...Jaune?" she whispered, unable to believe it. He nodded, and she slowly reached out before she placed her hand on his chest. She felt it. He was _real_. "Jaune...?" she asked again, and he nodded once more. Her eyes turned red and she punched him in the chest, hard. "You asshole!"

Jaune was sent back by her punch about a foot, and he looked at her in surprise. "Y-Yan-"

She grabbed him by the collar. "Do you have any idea how worried I was?" She demanded, speaking before he had the chance to respond. "You didn't call! You didn't text! You didn't come for your monthly visit! I thought maybe you'd forgotten about me! I thought maybe you'd decided you didn't want to visit anymore! I thought..." Yang's voice cracked as she looked down, tears filling her eyes. "I thought you might be dead..."

Jaune's eyes became impossibly soft as he slowly wrapped his arms around Yang. She let go of his collar and let him hug her as she cried into his chest piece. She cried, unable to stop, and all Jaune did was hug her and let her cry. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Yang stopped and looked up at him. Jaune smiled at her, "I'm back."

Despite herself, Yang let a smile come across her own face. "You idiot..." Yang felt her heart flutter again, but she didn't wonder why this time. She now realised what this feeling was. Perhaps she had always known, but didn't want to admit it. But she was willing to now. "Jaune, I-"

"Yang," Jaune cut her off. "I've waited a long time to finally be able to ask you this...so I'm going to ask you now..."

Yang's breath hitched. No...surely not? Jaune didn't believe he'd finally hit that point...right? Jaune didn't actually believe he'd finally hit the point where he thought he was strong enough to-

"Yang Xiao Long," Jaune spoke again, cutting off her train of thought. "Will you be my girlfriend?"

She stared at him, her mouth open in absolute shock at Jaune finally asking her. Slowly, very slowly, her open mouth changed to a small smile as tears rolled down her cheeks. "You dumbass...I'd love to be your girlfriend..." he grabbed his collar and pulled his head down into a kiss, which Jaune Arc gladly returned.

They kissed for what felt like forever, before Jaune finally broke the kiss. "I'm happy...but why? I didn't think you liked m-"

"Maybe I didn't at first," Yang told him. "But over time I changed, I enjoyed your company, I hated being away from you. And I realised it's...it's because I love you," she smiled happily at him.

Yang could say it without a doubt. She was in love with Jaune Arc. She wanted to be with him for the rest of her life, until death forcefully pulled the two of them apart.

And she didn't want it any other way.

* * *

Twenty years passed, and so much had changed. Cinder had been killed by Jaune, avenging Pyrrha, while her master, Salem, had been killed at the hands of Ruby. Blake had returned shortly before Cinder's defeat, and held off, eventually killing, Adam while Jaune faced off against Cinder.

Ruby had became the most famous Huntress in the world, and was hailed as a hero throughout the entire world. She chose to remain single, not really finding anybody who caught her eye. She continued life as a hunter, and never grew tired of it. She found herself often visiting the members of her team, and the remaining team JNPR.

Weiss took over the Schnee Dust Company and married Neptune. The two had a single child who they named 'Eis'. He had Weiss' white hair, but Neptune's hair style. Under Weiss' guidance, the Schnee Dust Company became more friendly and welcoming to Faunus, and managed to become more peaceful with the race.

Blake herself became the new leader of a peaceful white Fang, dedicated to helping the people, and married Sun, and had three children. The first was named a female monkey faunus named 'Elise'. She had her mother's hair, but her father's eyes. Her tail was also the same black as her hair. Their second child was a boy called 'Sol'. He took after his mother, having amber eyes and being a cat faunus, though he had his father's hair colour and hair style. Their final child was another girl, who they named 'Luna'. She entirely took over her mother, except for her hair colour. She had her mother's long hair, but her father's blonde colouring, along with a pair of amber eyes.

Nora and Ren, three years after Jaune killed Cinder, finally realised their feelings for each other and got together, and then got married. Nora became the head of a demolition company, while Ren was a stay at home dad, who looked after their one daughter, who they named 'Nora Jr'. She had Ren's magenta eyes, but Nora's orange hair.

And then, there was Jaune and Yang. Jaune had become the most famous Huntsman in the world, and had become a spokes person for the people. The councils were no longer in power, proving to be too corrupt, and Jaune became the first head of a new government that manged all the Kingdoms, but only because Ruby didn't want the job.

Yang became content with her life at Jaune's side. Jaune asked her if she had anything she wanted to do with her life, and she admitted she wanted to try her hand at boxing. So after pulling some strings and making exceptions, Jaune had managed to get Yang a job as a boxer. She was a boxer for a few months before she became the Woman's Boxing World Champion. She fought until she was 31, at which point she retired, deciding she'd had enough of boxing, wanting to spend the rest of her life with her husband.

Five years after getting together with Yang, Jaune plucked up the courage to propose to her, at which she immediately said yes, tears threatening to fall down her cheeks at the thought of marrying the person she loved.

Yang and Jaune had two children. The first was a boy who they called 'Jaune Jr', or 'JJ' for short, due to his uncanny resemblance to Jaune. Their second child was a girl, who the two eventually decided to name 'Pyrrha', in honour of their fallen friend. They didn't regret naming their child that, and they thought perhaps it would bring a smile to Pyrrha's face in heaven.

Yang was almost always seen with Jaune wherever he went in public. The two were nearly inseparable, and it wasn't strange to see them with their children either. They were the perfect definition of a happy family.

Right now, Jaune was sitting on the porch of their house with Yang, smiling softly as he watched his two kids playing in their back garden. He had everything he wanted. He had the woman he loved. He had children. He had fame. He had everything he could ask for. And yet, there was one thing that always nagged at Jaune, not in a bad way, but because whenever he asked this, he always got a response that never failed to make him smile.

Turning to his beautiful wife, Jaune asked her, "Why did you agree to marry me?"

In response, Yang gave him a small smile, almost as if she were expecting the question. "Because I love you."


End file.
